28/02/10

PATRON’S CUP FINAL

Durham Wildcats         (23, 52, 78) 96

Westminster Warriors  (16, 31, 56) 70

Durham Wildcats lifted their first national silverware as they defeated Westminster Warriors for the first time, to win the Patron’s Cup at Crystal Palace.

The Warriors had dumped Durham out of the EBL3 play-offs at the semi-final stage last season, and had come from behind to win the league encounter in London on the weekend before Christmas.

This time, however, the Wildcats made no mistake, as they pulled away in the second quarter and refused to buckle under increasing pressure from Westminster as the North-Easterners dominated the third quarter, to win by twenty-six.

Showing no signs of the exertions of the previous afternoon’s league match, they led from the first basket to the final buzzer in a tough, and often physical game.

A 10-1 start, capped by “3”s from Paul and Mark Elderkin, showed their intentions by the mid-point of the first quarter, but Westminster displayed their resilience as six different players contributed as they hauled themselves back to 14-12, including “trey”s from Junior Williams and Luke Baker in an 8 point spurt.

The Wildcats, too, had options, however, and all five starters had points (including a second “trey” from captain Mark Elderkin) as they edged away again to lead by seven at the first break.

Durham are usually noted for their third quarter performances, but this time it was the second period that proved decisive. Weathering the intense full-court pressure of the Warriors, the North-Easterners edged steadily away during the first six minutes, to a 40-24 lead.

Warriors then assembled a seven point run, off another Baker “3”, to cut the margin to nine, but in the last three minutes of the half the Wildcats shut out their opponents completely, and posted the last twelve points (including a “3” apiece from Michael Davies and Paul Elderkin), for a commanding 21 point advantage.

Durham knew that Westminster would continue to battle, and they held the margin steady to 60-40, in the third, period, before six unanswered for the Wildcats gave them their biggest lead of the game at 28, and they took a 22 point cushion into the final stanza. Scott Morton, who was proving unstoppable, had eleven of Durham’s points in the quarter, and he had accumulated his game-high 29 points three minutes before the final break!

A “3” on the restart from Rafa Vilar-Franca put Durham 81-56 ahead, and the 14 point turnaround that had given Westminster the victory at the end of last year began to seem a distant memory for the Durham bench.

It seemed as though the Warriors had received the same message, as they could muster only seven points in as many minutes (with Karolis Stepanavicius spurning four of four from the stripe) – a tally equalled by Stephen Jones in an 8-1 spurt that put the Durham team 89-61 ahead.

Coach Dave Elderkin gave his support players, who had already made significant contributions at various times during the game, an extended run, with just one starter on court for the closing minutes, as the Wildcats celebrated an emphatic victory.

Despite Scott Morton’s 29 point and seven assists MVP performance, it was by no means a one-man show, as Durham had three players with more points than Westminster’s leader, Jonathan Johnson, and every one of them made a strong contribution.

Courtside announcer John Walker summed it up well when he told me “The big difference between them was Durham’s teamwork. Time after time on the offence they were unselfishly looking for that extra pass which would give a team-mate an easy score.”.

Durham        : Scott Morton 29 [+7 reb.]; Paul Elderkin 15 [+9 reb..+5 assists ]; Stephen Jones 15; Mark Elderkin 10 [+6 reb.]; Michael Davies 9; Notis Chalkidis 9; Anthony Trigg 5; Rafa Vilar-Franca 4; Tolis Apostolidis.

Westminster : Jonathan Johnson 10; Luke Baker 8 [+8 reb.]; Damian Harris 8 [+9 reb.]; Yannick Bulambwe 8; Henry Wilkins 6; Ola Ogidan 6; Junior Williams 6; Mantas Drungys; Jackson Gibbons 4; Warren Adams 3; Karolis Stepanavicius 3; Marvin Addy 2.

MEN’S NATIONAL TROPHY FINAL

Manchester Magic   (22, 33, 59) 73  

London Mets           (21, 43, 61) 80

Manchester Magic’s Finals hoodoo struck again, as they fell at the final hurdle for the fifth consecutive time, as another of the new kids on the block, London Mets, followed Durham’s example by winning the League Cup at their first attempt.

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Manchester: Stefan Gill 31; David Watts 15 [+10 reb.]; Lee Goldsborough 10 [+12 reb.]; Brandon Kimbrough 10; Nathan Schall 5; Yann Fassbender 5; Lee Goldsborough 4; Ambokile Bell 3; Adam Slater; James Hagan; Liam Johnson [dnp]; Sam Olay Em [dnp]; Caio Avona [dnp].    

London    : Arturo Noha 21 [+11 reb,]; Jeffrie Danchie 17; Courtney van Beest 13; Dave Ajumobi 11; Solomon Ayinla 8; Deng Deng 5; Michael Odumosu 3; Chukwuemeka Obanye 2; Bode Adeluola; Jean Wakanena; Faruq Bilal; Obi Obanye.